So I picked up a 2015 Forest 2701DS from Campers Inn in Pittsburgh a couple weeks back and everything went well on the way home, even camped one night. This coach had 3500 miles on it and looks brand new, inside and out. After getting home, I got up on the roof and was checking around. I noticed condensation in the bathroom Skylight which I thought was odd. The seals on the roof all looked good and had a few spots that I could tell had been touched up which is good. I couldn't see any obvious leaks at the skylight sealant so I went inside and removed the interior trim. That is when I became alarmed. The soft ceiling foam backer edge is exposed under there and it was green and damp! From the looks of it, it was a small leak and there are no visible signs water intrusion on the ceiling or walls except for when the interior "skylight" is removed. To my horror, I have found a couple buldged spots in the rear exterior panel of the coach that looks like delamination, following down the vertical seam below the rear corner where the Skylight is. The day I picked up the coach it was gray and overcast and the buldges went unnoticed. Frankly, I seriously think that was even a possibility on a 2015 that has hardly been used and dealer maintained at the same location it was purchased. I also had been misinformed that Azdel won't delaminate. Now I'm not sure that the rear wall is even Azdel.
So, I decided to pull off the old sealant around the skylight and reseal. The way the skylight is positioned, the real skylight flange is supposed to sit over the seam of the real wall and the roof. The strip molding sits on top of that and then screws are driven down through the molding, skylight flange, and then into the frame of the skylight to hold that whole seam together. This Forester must have been done on Friday at 4:30, because the skylight hole was placed about 1-1.5" to far to the rear of the roof. The four screws that hold the rear seam together there, totally MISSED the frame. I took me a while to figure out how that happened, but you will notice that the sealant on the underside of the skylight frame. I think the installer dropped it centered over the hole initially and then slid it forward once he went to install the molding, so that it covered the skylight flange. The skylight couldnt have been installed any further back, because the rear seam is right there. I have to think that the rear seam is probably under some pressure bouncing down the road and I think that the sealant probably lifted somewhere along there just enough to let water in. It wasn't a gaping hole or anything, but enough to do the damage. In my mind, this is clearly a manufacturing defect, but of course I am out of warranty so I'm on my own to make it right. The whole reason I had been seeking out a Forester, was the Fiberglass roof and Azdel walls. It turns out that those things don't mean much, with construction like this.
I am including some pics below. I replaced the sealant around the skylight as a temporary fix because I'll have to pull that whole seam apart to really get it fixed and I've been traveling for work. My goal now is to rework the skylight frame so those four screws have something to screw into and hold that seam together. Might as well replace the skylight, so recommendations on a good replacement source are welcome. I will also be sealing every seam on the roof with Eternabond. The delamination is another story, but keeping everything dry inside is the focus.
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